I can only speak for NYC, as I haven't gotten out much lately, but the
programmer is absolutely not going out of fashion. While producers still don't want to pay for one because they still don't understand why they are essential, if anything they are finally catching on. The fight to get a
programmer budget
line is probably getting a
bit easier. The faster technology advances, the more important a
programmer position is. With the number of moving lights rising, increase in
pixel mapping, and the amount of tech time decreasing, having a person that is dedicated to the
console is invaluable. No matter how well a designer knows the
console, a good
programmer will almost always know it better. That isn't meant to demean any designer, it's just the way it is. They are different jobs. The designer should be spending their time on designing, not programming.
As a
programmer I can tell you from experience that many shows I have worked on would not be at the caliber they are if the designer was forced to program it themselves or have a board op that isn't a
programmer do it. There is only a limited amount of time in the space. That amount of time is then limited further by the amount of time it can be dark. That is then limited further by the amount of time you have the talent available. Every
cue that is written now has so much more to it then just record enter. There are presets/palettes to be recorded, fixtures to be marked, colors to be balanced,
etc.
For example:
The designer makes a look on
stage that focuses on something (e.g. an actor)
stage left. (S)he then tells the
programmer to take the opposite fixtures and mirror in on SR, but make it a warm blue and spin the
gobo the opposite direction. Record this as a new
cue. The LD then turns to the director and starts talking about the next look. While that discussion is happening the
programmer is positioning the other lights, mixing a new color and marking everything in the appropriate
cue. Simultaneously, the
ALD is giving that
cue placement to the PSM for calling and updating the paperwork with all the new
cue and
preset information.
If any one person on the design team is missing, things take longer. That is why these jobs exist. While, yes, budgets are getting tighter, the most common way producers are cutting back is on TIME. Space rental and labor are always the most expensive budget lines and so if you can take a whole week off of the rental agreement by adding a
programmer for a few days during tech, it is worth it.
-Tim